ESRB Reveals Spectral Force Genesis

According to a listing on the Entertainment Software Ratings Board’s web site, Ignition Entertainment will be publishing IDEA Factory’s Spectral Force Genesis for the DS. The DS tactical RPG was released in Japan in June 2008. What’s more telling than the fact that it is coming to North America is how is publishing it. NIS America publishes most of IDEA Factory’s other RPGs in North America. Perhaps the Japanese development studio responsible for 75 percent of NIS America’s non-Disgaea titles is experimenting a little.

Not too much info on if there will be any stark differences between the North American and Japanese versions beyond localization - all we know is that it is coming and that’s it will be rated “T” for “TEEN” by the ESRB.

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ESRB President Issues Open Letter to Utah

ESRB president Patricia Vance has written an open letter to Utah Lawmakers and parents in a last ditch effort to appeal to some common sense - as she sees it. The letter is response to a law that was drafted with the help of Jack Thompson, who has shifted seamlessly from game hating ambulance chaser to full fledged anti-gaming campaigner.

This probably marks the first time in many years that Thompson has successfully helped produce something that could affect consumers and game makers. The legislation fines retailers and movie theaters that knowingly provide M or R rated products to minors. Yes, we know that the language of the law is vague.. ESRB President Patricia Vance’s letter after can be found after the break:

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The ESA’s Top Posts Pay Pretty Well

While I have no opinion on how much a CEO of any company should make these days (there are plenty of stories of CEO’s of failing banks making ridiculous amounts of money in salaries and perks) it is nonetheless interesting to see how much the Entertainment Software Association pays out to its top two executives. Apparently the top executives at the industry’s ratings board and the top trade organization for the interactive entertainment industry could afford a fancy condo in Manhattan.

According to a Game Politics report citing IRS records, CEO Mike Galagher earned a salary that was slightly over $800, 000 USD including benefits. The ESA’s top executive was paid $789,929, along with $19,015 in benefits for the reporting period of April 1, 2007. ESRB President Patricia Vance was paid a salary of $535,397 according to those same IRS disclosure documents.

GTA IV: The Lost and the Nude

Update: The ESRB responded to our request for clarification on a couple of issues related to the rating for The Lost and the Damned. When asked about whether or not the ratings board saw the full frontal male nudity in in the DLC prior to its release and if it thought it put the game beyond the threshold of a “Mature” rating, ESRB spokesperson Eliot Mizrachi offered the following response:

“This content was disclosed and found to be consistent with the game’s Mature rating; however, it did prompt the assignment of a content descriptor for ‘Nudity.’”

So, while some may find this content a bit of a surprise, at least the ESRB knew about it in advance and rated appropriately. I guess Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two have learned a lesson from all the nonsense surrounding “Hot Coffee.”

Original Story: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned is out as we’ve already mentioned but people aren’t necessarily only talking about all the new characters, multiplayer modes, weapons and vehicles found in this DLC. No, they are also talking about a cutscene in the game that involves full frontal male nudity. That’s right, one of the characters in the game shows you what he has to offer unabashedly and without shame. The sad part is that the dude he’s having a conversation with doesn’t blink as this nude man chats him up.

 While this cutscene is amusing on so many levels, it also raises a few questions: did the ESRB see this clip when it rated the game “M” for “Mature” (it does list nudity in the game’s descriptor)? Does an extended look at a man’s junk constitute an “AO” rating and how will the mainstream media portray this clip once it is out there? We’ll let you judge for yourselves - follow this link - but keep in mind that it is intended for mature audiences and is appropriately age gated.

Both the ESRB and Rockstar Games are unavailable for comment at this early hour but we hope to get a responsefrom both later today.

Commentary: The Timothy Plan Video Game Report

The Timothy Plan, an investment group that offers a family of funds that are morally upright, has released a report called “An Inside Look Into: Video Games”, sure to whip the faithful into a frenzy. We assume that this report is for members that ascribe to the questionable notion that any investment firm is capable of claiming moral high ground or finding companies that don’t engage in some questionable practices.

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ESRB Adds Summaries

The Entertainment Software Association, or ESA as it is fond of calling itself, announced that it is adding summaries to its ESRB video game ratings system. The idea behind these new summaries is to allow consumers to see “some of the thought process” behind the agency’s decision to rate a game a certain way.

Beginning today, new games will carry these summaries along with old games dating back to July of this year. The information will be available on the ESRB’s main Web site, on its mobile site and through its rating search widget.

More information is always a good thing, and this coupled with the ratings and descriptors is a smart step to help parents understand why a particular game is rated a certain way.

Saw Game and the ESRB

Yesterday Brash Entertainment announced a few more details on the Saw game, based on the popular and oftentimes graphically violent movie franchise. Today I solicited some comments from the company about the game’’s nature and how it would reconcile the copious amounts of shock and gore with an ESRB rating system that is much more strict than the MPAA’’s movie ratings system.

Given the game’s stage of development, Brash wasn”t willing to say much, but a company rep gave us the following one-liner: Brash has an experienced team of producers that have years of experience in managing ESRB ratings.

Well, it ain”t much, but it”ll do. We”ll follow this game as it develops and let you know whether it’’s shaping up to be something unique, or if it’s another title taking a dip in potentially controversial waters.